Clash of the titans

COMPANIES spearheading agriculture's gene technology revolution are not only up against consumer opposition to engineered crops. They have also started fighting amongst themselves.

Monsanto, the American biotechnology giant that has invested millions of dollars in soya crops genetically engineered to resist the herbicide glyphosate, which it sells as Roundup, could find its profits slashed now that British rival Zeneca has found that the plants are also resistant to its own herbicide, Touchdown. The two companies are locked in a bitter legal battle in the US.

Monsanto's soya beans are genetically altered to tolerate Roundup, allowing the herbicide to kill weeds without harming the crop. Monsanto aimed to profit by selling farmers both beans and herbicide.

Glyphosate is the only herbicide approved by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for use with the modified soya, and farmers who grow the plants sign an agreement only to use Roundup. But Zeneca is ...

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